Caffeine Patches
by DannyPhanto fan
Summary: Came to me as I watched 'In Charm's Way" and finished before "Trade Off. Contains cursing, more realistic violence than the show does, slight cameos, several OOC moments for everyone and caffeine addiction.Oh and near blackmail.
1. Chapter 1

Ch 1

_Disclaimer; FANfction remember?_

?She tiredly peeled the patch from it's backing and placed it over her left bicep. Caffeine had become Gwen Tennyson's best friend; her reason her motivator. Her bed was rather dusty, being left unused for the past…how long had it been since she really slept? She tiredly squinted at her calendar; ah, that's right, two months. Two months, two months since her crusade began and she was still no closer to her desired outcome.

She shouldered her bag and waved her hand, opening the door to her best shot. She stepped into the library, nodding her head in greeting to the masked man named Dr. Fate before finding her usual table, setting her bag on it and then making platforms of manna to the section she was only halfway through in searching. As she mindlessly searched she worked through what happened that day.

She had not been upset that that lousy witch had put her magic stealing hands on Kevin (Okay maybe she was a little upset but jealousy was natural…she hoped…).

She had not been upset that that lousy witch put her _**lips**_ on Kevin

(Okay she couldn't convince even _**herself**_ of that lie… but so what? She had been mad, not that she was entitled to that or the jealousy; she damned the murky waters they were treading in…).

She had not been upset that that lousy witch had been able to manipulate Kevin

(This was true; the boy was terribly easy to break down; big eyes, pouting face, and a soft, gentle, high voice with just the slightest hint of actual begging and he was _**butter**_. That witch had only needed the charmed necklace to cement the enchantment).

No, what had hurt her most was how he doubted her and that that lousy, miserable thrice damned witch had been able to make that grow. Charmcaster had made that grow but she couldn't have planted the seed herself. It had to already be rooted somewhere within his mind.

She had always known his mental health was not as it should be but she cursed herself for not realizing how off it really was.

He had been a street urchin for several years of his life, any offered help being with strings attached and thus was met with suspicion. He had become a monster, mutated by Omni-energy, and been tossed in the Null Void, by her family no less, and stayed in there for an unknown amount of time, though she knew he couldn't have gotten out any less than half a year before they had met that second time. Of all the stupid idiotic things she could have done…

So that was Step 2. Once she found a way to get him back to their version of normal she was going to find him someone, a professional and most likely related to the Plumber organization in some way, he could talk to and get some help from. Maybe he needed medication for awhile.

She sighed, blinking in order to clear her foggy mind; she just didn't know what to do when Step 2 was set into motion. How did one really help a person so suspicious, so wary of normal society and normal human to human interactions?

The hours ticked by, caffeine patches coming and going, before her watch alerted her that she had to go back to the mortal realm for school. Still she had found nothing, nothing that would help anyway.

Had she not been so focused, so determined on her mission, she would have found some bits of the more obscure branches of magic rather interesting. But as it was she had to give up for the time being and go back to pretending to be things she wasn't anymore; human, happy, or strong.

She put away the books and scrolls, marked her place on the shelf, picked up her bag, walked to the lobby-like area of the library, waved her hand to open the door to her realm and stepped out. She dropped her yellow pack and grabbed a fresh change of clothes before heading to the bathroom to take a very cold shower. She did not allow herself the luxury of a hot or even lukewarm shower for fear of falling asleep. It would be so embarrassing to be a Plumber that drowned in her own shower. She brushed her teeth, applied the needed make-up to cover the bluish-black bags beneath her glassy eyes, and went back to her room to grab her lavender school bag before heading down the stairs to eat breakfast, grab a new box of energy bars and one of caffeine patches.

Breakfast was the only real meal she ate anymore, figuring the other two ate up too much time in which she could either be doing homework or research. She lived off energy bars and stealing manna from the shrubbery around her.

She said good morning to her parents and gave them a grin even though she knew they weren't fooled by such actions anymore. But what could they do about her habits? They were mortals, she was not; ergo she did what she wanted, no matter what they said or thought about her activities, a good ninety percent of the time. They just didn't talk about it anymore…though her mother had taken to making a bigger breakfast each morning, something Gwen was thankful for. She ate, grabbed a cup of coffee, said her parting farewells and left.

She absorbed manna as she walked; both the manna and physical movement keeping her awake. Her body had ceased protesting the eternal wakefulness weeks ago; she just wouldn't give into its' demands. So it began stopping unneeded processes, like ovulation and menstruation. A kidney went into suspended animation. Her nails, both finger and toe, stopped growing and most of her body hair had fallen out. The pigment in her cells stopped functioning, probably due to a lack of sunlight, making her ghostly white. Her hair had lost its gleam and now hung limply when out of a ponytail. She knew that by human standards she wasn't healthy anymore but her alien heritage allowed her to do as she was and thus she just didn't care for human health standards anymore.

She arrived on campus and immediately headed towards the soccer field. It's lush, healthy green grass being an abundant feast of energy. Somehow she had become known as a born again flower child to her peers so they never questioned her unusual actions in regards to wild flora and fauna, She didn't take from animals, at least not on purpose, and was careful about taking from plants and never touched the FFA greenery until absolutely sure that the students were done with it. And humans were of course a big no-no in her book.

So she plopped down into a meditative stance and connected herself to the planet, drinking what Mother Nature provided them with. After she said her thanks she downed the coffee she had brought in a single gulp, applied another caffeine patch and headed to class. Her teachers didn't care about her as long as she completed her work and was passing their classes. She may be putting her health on the line for her task but she would not put her own future welfare on it. Yes her priorities were probably skewed to someone with a normal point of view but again she was just too focused and tired to really care anymore…


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Art class; something she used to enjoy. Now it was just a waste of her valuable time. The teacher was just too perky to deal with, besides she could spend the forty-five minutes doing her homework or at the library. Besides the teacher was also too attentive, case in point that day, the one day the redhead had _**prayed**_ to be ignored;

"Gwen?"

She calmed herself to sound polite when she answered, "Yes Ms. David?"

"Can you come with me for a minute?" it was a genuine request. The rather willowy, dark haired and skinned woman had an indecipherable expression on her face that immediately made Gwen put her guard up and put her hand into her pocket to have a finger on the 'call for help' button on her badge in case her paranoid instincts were actually right this time as she said amicably, "Sure." She followed the instructor into the back room, slightly startled when the door clanked shut, Ms. David turned on the light and asked very gently, "Gwen what's wrong?"

Gwen cursed the teacher's attention to detail, removed her hand from her badge and blandly said, "Nothing's wrong Ms. David…"

"Bull." the other woman narrowed her eyes accusingly, "You used to be so vibrant, so full of life…"

"I still am!" Gwen said in a convincing manner but Ms. David wasn't fooled.

"Again I call bull," with a quick movement she uncovered the ten canvases, all various sizes, that sat again the walls and the redhead gasped, "You…kept _**my**_ art?"

"Yes, you were so full of potential," Ms. David spoke sadly, "but look, it's becoming darker…"

And indeed it was. The work from the beginning of the year was bright, optimistic and saw the proverbial glass as half full but three to four pieces in she had begun using blues, purples and blacks. It was only slightly at first, shadows at the edges, as if only threatening to overtake the work until in the newest three. They were blacker than anything else she ever produced before. The subjects had changed as well; before she had done relaxing, calming or heartwarming scenes that she had seen around town and beyond. Now it was empty graveyards, unmarked and unloved tombs, skeletal Grim Reapers beckoning the viewer with a moldy and skeletal hand, broken down and abandoned vehicles (at least that made sense somewhat), or perhaps the worst, a library scene with the shelves totally bare and dusty with a skeleton librarian overlooking this mockery of an intuition of knowledge, and of her greatest desire.

She flinched visibly and turned her face away from the last one, "Please cover the last one," she requested wincing and biting her lower lip as her eyes clenched shut.

"No, you need to deal with it."

Gwen nearly laughed; deal with it? She dealt with it everyday, she battled the fear that she'd fail in her duty every minute of every hour of every day of every week since this nightmare of a situation began and it just became ten times worse and this pathetic human woman with no idea of anything bigger than the earth and no inkling of her double life was asking her to _**deal with it**_? What did she do to be involved in the rather cruel joke that the universe was playing on them?

"Cover it. _**Now**_." She ordered in the voice she used to intimidate alien scum, shocking both herself and her teacher. Ms. David smartly did as she was bid and Gwen visibly calmed, her shoulders laxing just the tiniest bit, "Thank you…"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing." dear Anodine she was starting to sound like him. But what could she say other than that? 'Well you see the guy I really like had this accident about two months back making him into a Metamorpho clone, you see he has alien powers (so do I actually) and they went wonky, and apparently he thinks I want him to stay this way despite the obvious emotional and mental toll it's taking on him because no other girl would approach him when in fact I've been awake since it happened, researching, trying to find a way to reverse it.' Yeah, _**that**_'d go over well. They'd cart her off to the asylum faster than one could say 'crazy'.

"Maybe I can help."

Again she almost laughed, and then she almost cried. But again she lied, "Nothing is wrong Ms. David."

"Is something going on at home?" Ms. David tried a new tactic; she was just as determined to find out what was wrong as her pupil was to keep it hidden.

"No Ms. David," that was the truth at least.

"Is he abusing you?"

"Who?"

"Your boyfriend. Is he abusing you?"

"He's not my boyfriend," she corrected robotically, her head drooping just a bit as she again bit her lip. How could he be when he didn't even trust her? She shook her head; she wouldn't deal with that until her task was done, she wouldn't be focused enough to do her job if she did and no matter what fate had in store for them as a packaged deal, she would help him.

"But is he hurting you?"

"No." At least not physically, but the emotional and mental trauma…No, she wouldn't let herself be sidetracked by her own pain. As soon as she was done she would lock herself in her room, blare bad country music from her stereo in order to keep the other three away, curl up under her covers, sob herself to sleep, and sleep for a good long while. This she promised herself.

"Gwen…"

"Honestly Ms. David, Kevin's a good man underneath that rough exterior," And this she knew to be fact, no matter what he or the others thought, "He'd never rough up a girl."

This also was true. They had gotten into plenty of arguments to prove that; heck even when he got into arguments with Julie he restrained himself. And their arguments weren't the semi-for-fun kind, but actual arguments.

"Are you off needed medications?"

"Nope."

"Tell me please, I can help you."

"Fine…I didn't want to tell you but…I have insomnia that can't be controlled by medication and it's been egged on by a personal duty I have…" she kept a mental record of the lies she told.

"A duty?" Ms. David echoed worriedly, "What type of duty?"

"Nothing dangerous or degrading," she rushed to assure, "but my cousin really screwed up in something and now I have to fix it or I'll never forgive myself and I haven't slept right for weeks because I'm trying to find a way to fix what he did and when my insomnia gets this bad I tend to go a bit emo about things but as soon as I find a way to fix what went wrong and fix what went wrong I'll be able to sleep and I should be back to normal." She was rambling.

"Why can't he fix things?"

"He doesn't care that it's hurting the person it happened to," how often had she asked for his help and he wiggled out somehow? Ben was only useful in battle, and never ever cleaned up the messes he made. He only cared for the fun, exciting part of being a hero. Hero of heroes her ass. He was just a spoiled brat.

"Why then are you cleaning up after him?"

Her eyes sparked dangerously; what was she supposed to do? Leave him to suffer, congratulate Ben for beating Vilgax and go on like everything is perfectly fine and dandy?

Her aura sparked; her powers were connected to her emotions which, because of her no sleep policy, were frayed beyond repair right now. And the one emotion she could show right now, feel right now, was anger. Her temper was always short nowadays and it took very little to rile it up. Bad things happened when she got mad…

She closed her eyes and centered herself, replying tiredly, "I just have to, okay? Please don't ask anything more about it."

She calmly turned and went back into the classroom, put away her supplies, threw away the sketch she had been drawing, grabbed her bag and still just a calmly left the room, knowing that Ms. David wouldn't call campus security. Besides the end of the day bell was about to ring and perhaps she could sneak past her mother, into her room and the library.

Unfortunately her mother was waiting on the front porch. She tried to brush past the older woman but she was stopped, "Nuh-uh, Gwendolyn you know our deal…"

"But Mom! I have a really good feeling about—"

"The books will still be there when you get back; oh quit with the scary pink eyes of doom, we've been letting you destroy yourself—"

"But I—"

"Over something that is not your fault—"

"I know but—"

"It's not anybody's fault but his own."

Gwen blinked, taking in what her mother just said and then just stood there gaping foolishly in disbelief for quite a few minutes. Then her aura again kicked up, drawing manna from the lawn, the grass around her dying and browning; she closed her eyes and took quite a few deep breathes; this was _**so**_ not her day. Eyes still closed she asked for clarification, "Can you please repeat yourself Mom? I'm _**sure**_ I misheard you."

"It's not anybody's fault but his own."

Gwen sneered, of course she heard right.

"Mom," she spoke quite calmly, "I don't think you understand what happened that night so let me retell you, kay? Yes we shouldn't've tried hacking the Watch like we did, we'll all admit that, yes me and him should've left Ben when he told us to run for it but he was trying to make sure that you still had a nephew, that Earth still had a fighting chance against Vilgax when what happened happened. He was trying to do good and we can trace the whole damn thing back to Ben ignoring the Master Creator of the Watch and trying to manually hack the stupid thing. So don't you dare stand there and blame _**HIM**_, and if you still do please keep your mouth shut and do it behind my back."

"Gwendolyn Tennyson you better drop that tone of voice with me or I will—"

The younger woman laughed shrilly, mockingly, "You'll do what Mom? Ground me? _**Please**_." She summoned a sphere of manna the size of a tennis ball, and began juggling it effortlessly, "In case you've forgotten, I have _**superpowers**_; you have nothing, nowhere, that I can't escape from." The tennis ball grew to a basketball and she continued to play with it, balancing it on the tip of her finger as she said, "And you won't dare call Grandma Verdona for help because you hate her; Ben can't take me on and Grandpa Max won't…"

"I know someone who can…"

"Oh, so you going to call him in to take me down?" she clucked, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mother. You see me and him sorta had a falling out yesterday and I just may react _**violently**_ to his intervention." She narrowed her eyes, "Besides it's an empty threat; you wouldn't call him to help you even if your life depended on it. You think he's a bad influence on me…"

"Well if he is making you like this…"

"Mother, Mother," she shook her head sadly, "I've always had this power within me and I am now under so much stress that I am breaking the rules to get the job done. Sometimes good is not nice. Sometimes it's gritty and dark but you know what? It gets things done a hell of a lot faster than being nice and polite and following the rules and regulations. But if you really want to blame someone; blame Ben, blame Vilgax, hell blame the universe. Maybe even blame yourself; but I don't care anymore."

"That's it I'm calling him—" Jen pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial.

Gwen shrugged, "Go ahead; I can take him on easily, that was proved yesterday."

"But you won't hurt him." Jen spoke smoothly but her daughter smirked, "Wrong again Mother. I won't hurt him permanently true, but I know all his weaknesses thus I can simply disable him long enough to teleport away and they can't track me as long as I don't use my powers once I get wherever I'm going. But where I'm going they can't follow anyway so no matter."

"When your father gets ho—Hello Kevin, I'm having a problem calming Gwendolyn down and I know you are the only one that can safely take her on—Thank you, bye." She hung up, a smirk now on her face, "He'll be here in five minutes."

"Oh Mom, I so wish you hadn't done that," Gwen sighed before summoning two manna made seventeen foot long alligators (for that true New York feel of things; she'd have preferred to use crocodiles but oh well), ripping her bag from her mother's hold and eyed her pets as they waited, musing, "You two do look like a Bud and a Lou…"

Then the tell tale green GTO pulled up to the curb and out stepped Kevin Levin. He was wearing his ID mask. He did not look happy.

"Hey Kevin," she called cheerfully, "I want you to meet my new friends; Bud, Lou, go introduce yourselves."

The pink, almost see through, alligators snapped their jaws menacingly and took off after their target much faster than their real-life counterparts ever could. The man, big and tough as he was, screamed like a little girl and jumped onto the roof of the car, before yelling angrily, "Call 'em off Gwen!"

She grinned and opened her portal, calling as she stepped through the gateway, "Have fun boys!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Three days straight. The coffee was crap, fate was cruel, and she hated the mess her life was becoming at this point. Three days straight, forty five different books and still no answer.

Her cell vibrated and she robotically grabbed it and looked at the IM, 'C'mon Gwen, enough's enough, come home.'

The number of origin told her who sent it; she smiled sadly and typed back, 'Soon Kev. I've got a good feeling…' and sent it. She set the phone down, gathered up the proven useless books and went to shelve them and pick out more likely books.

Seven cups of crap being passed off as caffeinated drinks later she was shocked to full wakefulness as her heart began beating almost painfully rapidly. She found it. The Fix; The Cure; The Reversal Spell, whatever you wanted to call it she had found it at last. She bit her lip through a smile as she copied the instructions down into a leather bound journal, grabbed her phone and texted, 'Got a lead. B Back N Time. Alert Family. Don't IM.' shelved the book, pocketed the phone, applied yet another patch, downed what was left of her cup o' crap, opened a portal and stepped into it.

----

"Got a lead. Be back in time. Alert family. Don't IM." He read aloud, his brow figuratively furrowing, "Be back in time for what?"

Her entire assembled family, plus Julie, shrugged before Julie got a look that said she had just been hit by inspiration. "Time travel is possible for aliens, and Plumbers, right? Maybe she's telling us…"

"Not _**where**_ she'll be…" Ben caught on.

"But _**when**_." Kevin finished quietly, looking at the now useless cell in his hand.

Their UPS (Universal Positioning Satellites) locator pinged and put a holographic three dimensional Earth into the air, pin pointing her current (and they used that term laxly) location, "Egypt? She's in Egypt?!" then it pinged again, indicating she had moved, to Venice Italy before starting to continually ping as her pink indicator dot began jumping wildly all over the place, "Whoa, she's opening wormholes…"

"I think she got a major power boost from—well you know…"

"But to open _**wormholes in time and space**_?"

"She's capable of it," Kevin spoke, again softly, "She ripped a hole to the Void once…with the power boost from that witch, who knows?"

"Hope she doesn't get stran—" Ben was silenced by his comrade's glare.

----

The bazaar was hot and dry and yet as crowded as Disney Land over the Christmas season. She held the scarf tighter about her head; her redhead might earn her nothing but grief here. She navigated the bustling streets as if she was native to the city and she slipped by with no unwanted attention.

She looked again at the slip of paper before looking to a bright banner above the stall; she had found who she needed.

"Madam," the stall-keeper greeted cautiously.

"Sir." She nodded back, "I've heard tell that you can provide rare items to those who seek them…"

"Depends how rare and how much you're willing to pay," he replied evasively; she sighed, commerce really hadn't changed all that much between this time and hers.

"Name your price and I shall pay it; I seek a seductress's heart

"A very rare item indeed," the man mused, before smiling, "I do have one though…"

"A good one?" she questioned and he nodded gravely, "Yes, one of the best unfortunately. She was the king's concubine but was found to be seducing an ambassador, one of many men she conquered. Her punishment was to be sold as parts for the common people…"

"What is the price for her heart?" She peeked into his mind and saw no deceit, and using him as a link she followed the trail back to the body and found that he indeed spoke the truth.

"Three gold bars."

Gwen nodded, using the cloak she wore to hide her strange apparel to now hide her magic, manifested the required payment and handed them to the man. He tucked them beneath the counter and turned to reach into an urn to withdraw the organ. He then took a smaller urn and put the heart into it, filling the remaining space with a mixture of herbs and liquor before using a dripping candle to seal the top with wax.

"Thank you." She said as she was handed her valuable ingredient.

She strolled away briskly; teleporting once in what was an ancient alleyway.

In transit she checked off the heart in her book put the urn holding it into a small pocket she had ripped in space where it would be safe, and changed into more acceptable clothes for where she was going.

Venice, Italy of the 17th Century was beautiful and yet so somber and misery infested. She put a barrier about herself, not wanting to catch the rampant disease of the era. She wore a peasant's clothing with her hair in a simple yet tight bun. She also wore a doctor's mask, to allow her to get what she need. She sought out a dying man, finding one with thick abscesses.

"Shhhh my son," she soothed him, "It shall all be over soon enough, you are about to go into God's grace…"

"Water," he begged hoarsely, "Water please Sister."

"Of course my child," knowing that he was blind in his fevered state she was safe to manifest a pitcher of clean water and a glass in which to pour it. She supported his emaciated form and helped him sip, laying him down as he said wondrously, "So fresh and crisp…"

She nodded, before asking softly, "Are you ready to meet your master, the Lord, our savior?"

"Yes Sister."

She placed her palm to his temple and put him into a deep coma before stopping his heart.

"Please forgive me for my transgressions against this body for I do it for another's good," she prayed for herself after praying for the man's soul. With a steady hand and a glass vial she collected the pus of his pustules, gagging ever so slightly as she did so.

Magic using body parts was very dangerous to use for it could turn one's soul black as night, never to be pure again. But she was willing to risk her own damnation to save him from his. Besides she wouldn't be meeting her maker for several decades and had no doubt that the good deeds she was destined to do would even the scales of karmic justice in her favor. She corked the vial and stored it with the heart, before poofing him into dust and letting it spread with a wind she conjured before she teleported out again.

For an undetermined amount of time, because time was very hard to keep accurately when time-traveling, she skipped through various centuries, empires and cultures, paying and taking what she needed from them. She got into a spot of trouble occasionally but handled herself well enough to get out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

She looked to her list and cringed, 'The Blood of The Victim of The Curse Which Is Being Reversed'.

Oh dear, that might be a problem. She couldn't take blood from her version because of the covering over his flesh and if she went back before the accident her past self would attack current herself, unless…but could she go back, take just what she needed, and leave things as they should stay, knowing that in doing so she was effectively condemning him to the fate that befell him?

Could she condemn the lost little boy he was when she first met him to the Void? She sighed; she would have to, to help him of the now.

She opened the portal and steeled herself as she stepped through it and into the dark tunnel that had been his home. It was pitch black so she let her hand glow. A body fell upon her back and a cool metal blade pressed against her jugular. She rolled her eyes, he had liked dramatics, greeting him calmly, "Hello Kevin."

"What're you doing here, who're you, and how'd'ya know my name?" he demanded and she just had to smother a giggle. His voice was so much higher in this time!

"Let me see," she replied amicably, "I'm looking for you, I'm a friend from the future."

He laughed coldly and she suppressed a shiver of warning, her old instincts about him were kicking in, "Right, and I'm a Plumber."

"In my time you are, a good one too," she said gently, "just like your Dad. I got my badge on me, will you allow me to reach for it and show you?"

He seemed to think before she felt him nod, "Alright but one wrong move and you're dead, got it?"

She nodded carefully before reaching into her pocket, withdrawing the circular device and holding it to her lighted palm to show him, "See?"

Again she felt him nod and he slid from her back and onto his own feet, "How far?"

"Six years, give or take a couple months."

"And I'm a Plumber there?" he asked skeptically, "A badged Plumber?"

"Yep, along with me and my cousin."

"Who are you?" he asked again. She shook her head, "Sorry, can't tell you that. Could mess things up and I don't want to go back to the future and find monkeys running the place. Besides you'll meet me, my cousin and our grandpa soon enough and you'll learn my name then."

"Say I believe you, what're you doing here?"

She frowned and knelt before him, "In my time there was an accident and you were hurt very badly. I've found a way to fix things in my time but I need undamaged blood from you. I can't get it from him in the future but I can here…if you'll let me…"

"My power messed me up?" he asked quietly, defeat in his young eyes.

"Yes, but it's a different power…"

"Different?"

"Yeah, here you absorb energy right?" she waited for him to nod, "In my time, because you're a teenager and once made a very bad mistake with that power, you've gone to absorbing matter; things like concrete and metal and a bunch of other stuff. It gives you a covering of whatever you use, like a suit of armor…"

"But something went wrong…"

"Yes. You got hit by a very powerful blast of energy as you were absorbing some stuff and it made you permanently part concrete, crystal and wood, but no flesh. I found a way to help you, to turn you back, but I really need that blood…"

"Why should I trust you, let you take it; you could be lying, I've seen and used false badges before."

"True," she conceded, "But you can't know if I telling you the truth until you're older. Here," she made a band of her energy appear around his wrist, "as I symbol of good faith I give you that. Some of my own energy. It won't go away until I get back to my time and take it from the older you. You'll have it until this time's version of me becomes the me I am now and I take it from you. Deal?"

He eyed her, and she felt vaguely uncomfortable about it because he seemed to be reading her, before saying softly, "We, older me and you, are dating aren't we?"

She laughed; she couldn't help it so she laughed. He waited out her fit with a stony face.

"I'm so sorry I lost it," she giggled, "But I'm super tired, been running through time and dealing with my own frayed emotions, the coffee I've drunken in the past week tasted like shit and you, my dear, just asked the billion dollar question and…I just had to laugh."

"Things that messed up?"

"You know what, just avoid the whole situation when you grow up to be my you and have the guts to ask your me out…" her eyes suddenly narrowed, "You're planning something aren't you?" she held her lighted hand closer to his face to see that all too familiar smirk.

The Smirk that told her he was planning something, something that she probably wouldn't like because it would be a bit crazy and maybe some part stupid but so utterly Kevin that she would go along with it because to not do so would be considered trying to control him and if there was thing everyone who knew him knew was that one does not try nor will one succeed much in controlling Kevin Levin. Or changing some of his baser habits.

"Let's hear it," she pinched the bridge of her nose, she so needed Tylenol.

"Oh I think I've come to a fair deal," he spoke silkily, "After all, all you traded for my blood was a pink glowing bracelet thingy that you could probably make disappear without being in the room with me and you say you're in a dating disaster with your me. So here's the deal, I let you take my blood and I get to call you, both you you and my you, my girlfriend. It cleans up both your messes, I have a bright point in my life, and your me can't be a coward anymore…"

She stared at him, surprised. She had known he had been a bright kid, still was when he put his mind to it and didn't just hit things, but that trade deal was devilishly brilliant. But would it mess up the timeline?

She bit her lip before nodding, "But there will be conditions," she warned him and he nodded, "Fair enough."

"You cannot tell anyone, not your me, not my cousin when you're taunting him, not my grandpa, none of your associates you'll meet, no one."

"Everyone else I get but why not my you?"

"Because when I first met you, you were a giant creep only out for personal gain, you try to take my cousin's alien watch and…you get turned into a mixed-matched monster and go to a prison dimension until we meet in our teens…" she grabbed him by the shoulders when he made to run, "Kevin, listen to me. Things need to go the way I remember them or your future could be much, much worse than it is right now. I've taken a big risk telling you these things because you could avoid the bad things but you must go through them…"

"Easy for you to say!" he bit out.

"Kev, I know it'll be really tough and scary but you must do it. For me okay? I know you can do it because you've done it by my time; just remember that I'll be waiting for you when you get older, five years and you'll partner up with me. Okay? Just five years and you'll meet your me as I am now in my time. Can you do that?"

"Y-Yeah," he nodded shakily, "I'll do it."

"Thank you…can I take the blood so I can get back to my time?"

"S-sure."

She nodded and manifested an empty vial and syringe, numbing the area before drawing the blood and then she healed the area, corking the phial and tucking it into her little pocket dimension.

She then gave him a tight hug before portalling away. She decided to return to her own time for the briefest pit-stop to refuel and drop off the already collected items for that pocket was getting rather full.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

She arrived home with a _**POP**_! and was glad to see that everything was as she left it, with the exception of Kevin's new pink, glowing bracelet. She was able to see this for about two point five seconds before she was crushed by a massive group hug.

"Guys," she gasped as twenty-five people, possibly more, grabbed onto her, "I'm really sorry I teleported out like that and been gone for so long but really I NEED AIR!"

They ignored her and she rolled her eyes, teleporting from the death hold and to the other side of the room. "Thank you," she rolled her eyes, sitting calmly on the couch and crossing her legs, "I just dropped in to make sure monkeys weren't our overlords—"

"Worse," Julie quipped dryly, "_**Men**_ run the place."

Gwen grinned tiredly, "True, but anyway I also need to drop some stuff off before I go again to collect the last two things and then I can start brewing the stupid mixture. So Mom, can I take over some cabinets in the kitchen and some fridge space?"

"Sure…"

"Thanks," she stood up and headed to the kitchen, before pausing and turning around and saying, "Oh and Kev? That deal still stands." And she turned back and continued on as the young man in question just smiled happily and shrugged.

"What deal?" Ben asked nosily and was dope-slapped by his girlfriend. "What was that for?!" he cried out as he rubbed the spot.

"For being a prying, insensitive idiot!"

"What? I wasn't prying! I was just asking!"

"She obviously changed the timeline in some way only meant for them to know. I mean we all have memories of him _**not**_ having that pink thing around his wrist and now we have another set telling us that he always has had that thing on him."

---

She labeled the ingredients carefully and put the more bio-hazardous items in a barrier that kept the harmful stuff in.

Only two more items to go. She teleported out, into the future.

The year of 2022 was much like 2010 so she wasn't too put off once she got there. She had teleported into a den and found a young woman, though still older than her of course, with dark scarlet hair waiting for her.

"Hello?" she asked uncertainly and the other redhead grinned.

"Kinda odd talking to yourself huh?"

"Wait. You're me?" Our Gwen asked stunned.

"Well duh, I've been waiting for you…you need the blood of his offspring right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Boy or girl?" before the Older Gwen grinned, "Never mind I'll just call for them all; call me Gwendolyn by the way." She pulled a whistle from beneath her blouse and blew through it. There was a stampede of footsteps coming down the stairs and hallway and no less than seven children came into the room, the youngest being carried by one of her siblings. All of them had black hair and emerald green eyes though who they took after besides those seemingly mandatory attributes was quite varied.

"Seven?" Gwen asked faintly and Gwendolyn shook her head, "Eight."

"But I only…_**oh**_. Nevermind."

"Mom?" one of the older looking boys ventured, "Is she who I think she is?"

"Yep. Guys, meet me; from the past. Now you know what to do."

They nodded, organized themselves, fell into military stances and began to introduce themselves a la _**Sound Of Music**_.

The boy who asked her identity was first, stepping forward, "Devlin Levin, age ten I'm the oldest of the group." He fell back and a second boy followed, "Owen Levin, nine; second oldest."

This time two identical girls stepped forward, "We're twins…"

"I'm Karalyn Tennyson," introduced one

"and I'm Evelyn Tennyson," added the other before they both said, "and we're eight." They fell back into line.

Another set of two stepped, this time both being boys, "We're twins too."

"I'm Balen Levin," stated one

"And I'm Galen Levin," spoke his brother, "We're six."

"And this," Gwendolyn pointed to her youngest, who had been passed to Devlin, "Is Lynn Tennyson, two…We have a tradition you see. Boys are Levins; girls are Tennysons. Unless they want to switch. So which one?"

"Which has the most power?"

"That'd be Dev."

Aforementioned boy passed his sister to Owen and then proceeded to strip down to reveal skin tight cycling shorts beneath his jeans. His siblings backed into the hallway and then he became…

"What the hell?" Gwen backed up to the wall, her eyes wide as dinner plates as she stared at what the boy turned into.

He was the very same monster Kevin had turned into at age eleven.

"Yep that's his alien form," her older self nodded, "He has all ten original Omnitrix powers, the ability to absorb liquid, energy and matter, my Anodite powers (the only boy in this family to have them) and he's just learned to absorb and copy other powers from other beings."

"I'm very in control of myself and my powers Ms. Tennyson," Devlin spoke gently, "My personality is more like Mom's than Dad's and I have not inherited any of his mental instabilities…"

"I understand," Gwen nodded as she tried to calm her body, "old instincts die hard. They kept me alive after all."

"I will turn back into my human form if you'd prefer…" and he did so, shrinking down and softening until he was human again. He grinned sadly, "You'll get used to it." The others came back into the room, taking seats

"I'm sure I will. You said you're ten right?"

"Yeah, almost eleven."

She looked to Gwendolyn, "And how old are you?"

"Almost twenty nine."

"But that means I…we…"

"Eighteen yeah, first time too…if it's any consolation we did use protection, everything we could get our hands on…"

"Then how…?"

"We were in the few percent that gets screwed over," Gwendolyn laughed wryly, "In fact unless we are expecting when…we usually end up expecting…" she shrugged, "Grandma Verdona's happy because all the girls, and Dev, have Anodite powers…"

"How did—does—will Kev take it?"

"Surprisingly well actually. He only wigged for an hour and every time since he's only fainted."

"Did we, I, you, get our college degree?"

"Uh huh; in Sociology and Psychology…"

"We gave up being a Plumber for stay at Home Momness?

"Kinda. When I'm able to I join in in missions but most of the time…"

Gwen rubbed her temples, "I might just kill him…"

"He's actually a great father and partner…"

"He didn't marry us?"

"That's a joke; the closet we've gotten Kev to an actual alter was during Ben and Julie's wedding and even though he was in the back of the church he still wanted to bolt. But we both know we love each other, why do we need the paperwork to prove it?"

"True, but didn't Dad try to kill him?"

"Of course but Grandma Verdona and Grandpa Max stepped in in Kev's favor."

"I need aspirin."

"Got it." Karalyn and Evelyn said in unison while one tossed her the bottle.

"Thanks, the dose?"

"200s."

She nodded and shook out four and gulped them down before summoning a bottle of water and drinking some of it. She tightened the cap back onto the bottle of tablets and tossed it back to one of the twin girls who caught it easily.

"So you need blood."

"Yep, sooner the better."

"Right." Gwendolyn summoned a syringe and vial and handed them to Devlin who drew his own blood with ease.

A clock doled out enough cuckoos to announce it was three o'clock and right on the last cuckoo the front door opened and a deep voice boomed, "_**Gwen**_!"

"Oopsie," Owen smiled guiltily as his mother glared at him, "I forgot to run up the flag."

"Everyone's here Kev." Gwendolyn called back as her younger self asked, "Flag?"

"Yeah," Owen explained, "To let him know we're all safe we're supposed to run up a Plumber's flag before he gets home. To not have it up is a warning sign that all is not well."

Before she could respond in stepped twenty-nine year old Kevin Levin. He had slimmed down in the twelve years between and earned several visible scars on both his face and arms. But his eyes still held that wild glint to them and his smirk was also the same. And he still had the pink bracelet

His eyes scanned his family before landing on their visitor, "Oh." he said in understanding, "It's that date." He turned to his partner in crime, "Full name basis until she leaves?"

"That's how we been planning it." He nodded and turned to the younger version, asking with a confident smirk, "How'd'ya like me now?" His voice was several notches deeper than what she was used to. But he was still the same Kevin through and through.

Gwen rolled her eyes, "Still got the ego I see."

"Here you go," Devlin tossed her the now full vial and she caught it, she smiled, saying, "Hate to teleport but I need to get back to my own time." And she waved goodbye as she phased out and into her own time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

She was in her room so she disabled the fire alarm outside her door, set a fire (boxed in energy, she wasn't stupid), summoned a large cauldron, summoned pure Alpine melt-water to fill it and waited for it to boil. As she was waiting she strolled downstairs to inform her family that she was back and yet leaving once more.

"Nuh uh," her mother said and she sighed, "Mom, it's something I need to do for myself okay. I promise once I get it done I'm staying in this time and this dimension and I'll actually go to sleep once the potion's done."

"Fine, just go."

"Thanks, the cauldron's coming to a boil in my room; keep everyone out. Be back in a flash." She teleported out and a few seconds later came back in. Where she left in order she came back disheveled. She had gained several bruises and was holding her right hand cradled against her chest. There were several silvery strands tangled onto her fingers.

"I'm back!" she said cheerfully around a swollen bottom lip; they stared at her, "What?"

"What happened?" Kevin demanded.

"Oh. Oh I felt bad about putting Charmcaster into the dimension I did—"

----

Several dimensions away, (thankfully far, far, _**far**_ away)

Charmcaster screamed in pain as her purple tormentor pulled her into a BIG! hug, completely disregarding her new injuries as he continued to sing that horrible, torturous song, " I love you, you love me; we're a great big family. With a great big hug—" she screamed with the extra squeeze, "And a kiss from me to you—" her broken face was engulfed by the monster's face in a sloppy, slobbery kiss, "Won't you say 'I love you too'?"

She screamed again as he started singing again.

----

Earth.

"—So I went to release her but she got smart and decided to threaten my entire family, Kevin and Julie included,—"

"_**What?!**_" Ben yelped in anger.

"Yeah; so I, in my sleep deprived state, kinda snapped. She managed to bust my lip and get in the bruises before I stopped holding back and let her have it. Though I think I broke my hand in breaking her jaw. I ripped a good chunk of her hair out and broke a few of her ribs, her left knee, both of her hands and I sapped the little bit of magic that I had let her keep the first time around. I'm satisfied that I got the warning across and would be smiling if it didn't hurt to."

Kevin, Ben, and Julie stood up and began herding her to the door, "C'mon, you're going to get that set, we're taking you to Cooper's…"

"Guys I'm okay, seriously." They ignored her.

Three hours later she stood in her room, her right hand in a cast and the swelling in her face had gone down, and was adding in her ingredients carefully.

Her hopes were riding on this potion but the future had assured her that something finally went right in regards to the situation. Perhaps this wouldn't be the answer to the problem, but something would be eventually. Though she was really praying that this was _**it**_.

So in the following hours she added things in a very specific order before it was time for the final pieces. First she poured in his blood, watching as the potion turned a dark red. Then came Devlin's which turned the potion pink of all colors possible and then it was time. She bit her lip before withdrawing a sheathed dagger from her hip area. It was steel and the blade was engraved with Chinese symbols which held a very wise statement that she took as her personal motto. The grip was bejeweled with precious stones, mostly rubies and emeralds though there were a couple of pink stones as well. She unsheathed it carefully, its blade glistening sinisterly in the low light of her room. She dropped the lacquered sheath, not noticing the thud as it hit the ground.

"Never surrender." she uttered softly yet sternly, reciting what the dagger said to give herself courage, "Never give in. Fear is my enemy. I shall conquer it."

With that said she used the weapon to slice open her hand and let the blood fall into the cauldron. The mixture hissed, bubbled and turned a blinding white. It actually hurt the eyes to look at it.

She healed her palm and cleaned the blade with a hand towel before picking up the sheath and easily sliding it in. She tucked the weapon into her bag before sighing. All there was to do now was to wait. Three days. This was probably going to be the hardest part. She set the alarm on her watch with a sigh and went downstairs to have an actual dinner.

It was going to be a long three days. Good thing it was thanksgiving break for her school; she was going to get neurotic about it, she just knew it. She then laughed at herself; how could she possibly get anymore fixated then she already had been? She then knocked on the first wooden thing she found in the hallway, knowing that she had just tempted fate about the whole thing.

SIXTY HOURS (2.5 DAYS) LATER

It was official; she had become more anxious about it than she had been about anything before. She had gone so low in her attempts to keep her mind off it as to resort to building things out of toothpicks, without using her powers. As it was she had already built and glued together a miniature Taj Mahal, a miniature Great Pyramid, a miniature Eiffel Tower and a miniature Whitehouse and was now working on a miniature replica of the _**HMS**__**Titanic**_.

She was carefully maneuvering a toothpick into place, with tweezers, when her cell phone rang making her jump and thus upsetting her project. She howled in frustration before grabbing the phone and answering it, "Ben, somebody better be dying…"

"As a matter of fact, Charmcaster was just the—_**JULIE**_!" She heard the phone hit the ground and a roar of pure rage before it disconnected.

"Hex." She swore, rage coursing through her entire being. Her skin split, revealing her true self. She was _**pissed**_.

She teleported to the battle and only saw something that pushed her over the edge. Julie was out, she didn't know how badly hurt, Ben was covering her, completely lost to Omni-instincts and Hex had an unconscious Kevin in his grasp.

"_**Shirley Taylor**_," she boomed, a thousand voices adding to hers, using the sorcerer's true name, "_**Put him down and I might let you live**_."

"Gwendolyn Tennyson," Hex sneered, "You are not in the position to make demands."

"_**Six years change a lot of things**_, _**Shirley**_." With a gentle yet strong tentacle of her power she freed Kevin from his prison-keeper and laid him beside Julie before covering all three with her strongest barrier.

"You have grown powerful indeed," Hex agreed politely before sneering once again, "But I remain more powerful than you'll ever be."

Gwen threw her head back and extended her arms and legs, making a five pointed star of herself before drawing manna from everywhere and anywhere. She snapped back into a regular standing position and smirked, "_**Batter up**_!" She summoned a small car sized sphere of manna and hurled it at him. It knocked him back, into a building which collapsed under the stress of the impact.

While he was down she grabbed his staff and crushed it to dust, absorbing the magic it held. She grinned and her body glowed brighter and possibly hotter (as in temperature people, jeeze).

She grabbed her enemy and began throwing him around as she stole all the magic his body contained. He shriveled and weakened as she sapped his power and his bones began breaking with each impact until all two hundred and six were shattered beyond any hope of any type of repair. But yet she kept him alive; although he deserved it she wasn't a killer and wouldn't become one for scum like him. But she smirked cruelly; there were other ways to get to the same outcome. She opened a vortex and tossed him into it. It was a portal to the Triassic Era of the dinosaurs. She didn't kill him herself but he was dead by now and so she was satisfied…until she remembered what called her out. She flashed to him, her human skin enveloping her form once more and her eyes returning to green.

She fell to her knees and began running her glowing hands over him, to heal him, while calling his name softly.

He came to and she heaved a sigh of immense relief, helping him up. She looked to see Ben helping a limping Julie up before he picked her up completely, calling, "You two okay?"

"We'll be fine." Julie replied tiredly, laying her head against Ben's shoulder and shutting her eyes.

"Julie," he said sternly, jostling her, "you have to stay awake for a few hours, you might have a concussion and I don't want you to lose consciousness again.'

She blinked her eyes open and nodded, "Okay."

"Everyone gather 'round me," Gwen ordered, "We're going to teleport home."

"My car."

"I'll come back for it later okay." Kevin nodded. "Ben grab onto me." Her cousin grabbed her arm while supporting Julie in one arm.

"Get ready," she warned, "Take a deep breath and _**here we go**_."

They appeared at her house and her three passengers gasped for air.

She rolled her eyes, set Kevin on the couch and looked to her watch. Three hours.

Those three hours ticked by agonizingly slowly for everyone involved. Gwen had teleported to Kevin's apartment to grab an outfit, and his boots, for him. She also stopped by the newest battle site and touched the car to teleport it back to her place. Once home she changed into her pajamas and made her bed with clean linens. She took off the last caffeine patch she would need and threw it away with glee. She knew she'd suffer caffeine withdrawal but then again she'd probably sleep right through it. She laughed; sleep sounded like a mythical thing. She organized her desk and books into neatness and put a thin layer of energy over them to ward off dust. She locked her window, disengaged her badge and buried it in her underwear drawer, locked the drawer, soundproofed it, unplugged her computer, packed that up into a manna box, also soundproofed, along with her cell phone and landline phone before putting that box into her closet, soundproofing that and locking it too. So she may have gone overboard but should anyone wake her up once she went to sleep…may God have mercy on their souls. She put bits of her power into some of her jewelry, and dagger, and locked those away before finally summoning a 'Do Not Disturb Under Pain of Death' sign for her doorknob.

Her watch finally alerted her, it was time. She filled a regular sized water bottle with the potion, tightening the lid before putting all of the excess into a large (and by large I mean about the size of your average seven year old) canister and sealing that away in her little dimensional pocket in case of emergency need. She sealed the recipe and instructions into an envelope as she waited for the bottle to cool and put it inside of the spell book she had taken from that lousy witch all those years ago. Once it was cool enough she teleported downstairs to find him, already clothed, waiting.

"It's gonna taste like crap," she warned, "But you need to drink _**every last drop**_."

He nodded and took the bottle, pinched his nose, and began gulping the foul concoction down. The empty bottle was crushed in his grasp as he sputtered and coughed but other than that nothing changed.

Minutes ticked by almost mockingly; dread, disappointment and sympathy began to fill them all before the first sign of its success appeared. A crack became visible in the crystallization of his face, right beneath his eye. It grew, spiderwebbing to encompass his entire face before spreading beyond. One could actually _**hear**_ his covering break apart. Then it began to crumble, pieces hitting the floor with soft thuds and almost musical tinkling sounds depending on size. Pieces of wood fell from his jeans as his legs reverted to flesh and blood. His skin was rawish pink but would soon become its' normal color with exposure to the elements and his habits. She reached up to grip his chin gently and moved his head from left to right, looking at his face in profile and scanning for injuries caused by the accident or its' cure. He had a new scar; it was bright red indicating an active but small infection and she left it be, knowing that he would be able to fight it off on his own.

"Anything hurt?" she asked quietly.

"No." he replied just as softly.

"Would you actually tell me if anything did hurt?" her eyebrow rose but he nodded.

"Good." She let go off his face and slapped his unscarred cheek, throwing all her weight behind her good hand.

He staggered back, she had put quite a bit of strength behind the blow, hand going to the now red and stinging area as he yelped, "What was that for?!"

"For doubting me and for that whole Charmcaster debacle," she narrowed her eyes, "I didn't want to break my hand so I had to wait to hit you."

She gave him one last glare before announcing, "I am going to bed and I am going to sleep. No one is to wake me no matter how long I stay down for. You guys have been warned." She marched up the stairs, put the door hanger around the knob, locked the door, set the defense matrix to full power, flopped into her bed, pulled her comforter over her head and instantly went to sleep. Her body started to glow as she instinctively put herself into suspended animation to heal.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

She woke up, feeling a whole lot better than before. She got up and stretched, yawning, made her bed, shut off the defense matrix and shuffled down the stairs to get something to eat. Her parents were sitting at the table; her father reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee while her mother was just staring off into empty space, also drinking a cup of coffee as well.

"Morning," she said as she made her way to the fridge; at least that was the plan but her parents jumped up and grabbed her, hugging her between them.

"Uh thanks?" she said confusedly, "What's wrong?"

"We were so worried."

"Why? How long was I out for?"

"Two and a half weeks," Frank replied.

"Oh. I'm sorry I worried you, but I'm really hungry so could you please let me go you two?"

"Of course," Jen scurried to the fridge, asking, "How do pancakes sound?"

"Delicious…"

So fifteen minutes later the warm, intoxicating smell of homemade flapjacks hung in the air.

Gwen was getting herself caught up on the news when the kitchen door swung open and in stomped the person she'd least expect to come visiting this early. The scar had sealed up in the fortnight since she last saw him and his skin had returned to its' normal coloring indicating that he had returned to his normal routine. He was mumbling under his breath about some slight or another. He stopped dead in his tracks though when he saw her sitting there awake and watching him. He visibly relaxed, tension fleeing from him as his shoulders slumped slightly, as he heaved a relieved, "You're awake, good."

"He's been coming here religiously," her mother quipped and the young man flushed deeply, "ever since the third day."

"We had to force him out a couple of times when night fell," her father added with a fond smile. Boy had a good heart and the strength to protect his baby girl. "Always found him on the couch in the morning; never figured how he got in; doors and windows were still locked…"

"Your defense matrix is several versions outta date," Kevin muttered, "I've got the up-to-date one at my house…"

"Still doesn't explain how he got in," Frank interjected.

"Dad," Gwen said softly, "he was a professional thief, conman, when he was younger. He knows how to get in and out of a lot of places without leaving much of a trace behind. He's one of the best at what he _**used**_ to do."

Her parents nodded, realizing that it was a sore subject for both teens.

"You mentioned a falling out when you lost it…"

"Ah that's right," Kevin winced, he knew he was still in deep trouble with her, "We need to find you a good psychologist."

"I ain't talking to some quack," he rumbled firmly, striding forward and taking a seat across from her.

"Trust me," she said smugly, "I know I win this debate. I've been to the future."

"Grandchildren?" Jen asked hopefully and Gwen paled, "Seven, to be eight."

"Seven?" he yelped.

"With the eighth on the way," she nodded.

"But-but-but-"

"Kev, calm down for now. Two years, we have two years before the headaches begin. You can spaz out on me then."

"But-but-but-tw-tw-two y-years?"

"You actually managed three words this time, very good." She rolled her eyes, "We did try to be safe about things…she says we actually try to be safe every time but for some reason we're both super fertile…"

"I-I-I-k-ki-kids-? I-I-I-ca-can't-I-don-don't know how to…" he was still freaking.

"Kev," she said softly, "She said you will-are-be a good father. Don't panic. At least not yet okay?

He nodded, gulping harshly.

"Good," she nodded, "The only thing I'm upset about is that you're too scared of commitment to even just sit, in the back of a church, during my cousin's wedding."

"_**What?!**_" Frank roared, "He doesn't marry you?"

"Nope," she said cheerily, "Why would we need to? We both know that we love one another so why does it need to be official?"

"Your honor!"

"Dad, I'm a Plumber; not some preacher's daughter. My honor is unbreakable unless I bring shame to the badge and should that happen my honor will be the least of your concerns." She smiled, "Besides I think the family can protect its' honor pretty well on their own. Them boys didn't seem like the ones to let people they care about get pushed around or slighted."

"Boys?" her father asked with glinting eyes.

"Yeah Dad; four boys, three girls, two sets of identical twins, and the one still on the way," she began ticking off names on her fingers, "In order of age, Devlin, Owen, Karalyn and Evelyn (they're a set of twin girls), the other twins Balen and Galen, Lynn and number eight; girls have the last name Tennyson, boys are Levins and they all have black hair and green eyes. The girls and Devlin have Anodite powers…but…"

"That doesn't sound too good…"

"Kevin," she said quietly, gently, "Dev turns into Eleven; a good version."

"What?!"

"Has all Eleven's powers too along with the ability to copy powers he's seen and my energy powers."

Jen placed a plate piled high with flapjacks in front of her daughter and another one in front of her future almost-son-in-law. When it looked like he was about to decline the older redhead ordered, "Eat it, all of it."

He ducked his head, knowing when he was defeated and muttered a, "Yes Ma'am."

Everything was quiet for a few minutes until Gwen cursed, having gotten her cast in her food.

"Gimme your arm," Kevin told her, pushing his plate away, "it should be healed by now." She extended her arm over the table and he broke the plaster shell by brute force alone.

"Thanks."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

A month later Ms. David breathed a sigh of relief. Gwen Tennyson was back to normal and her work reflected it.

"Everything fixed?" she asked her favorite pupil quietly as the girl was putting the finishing touches on her newest piece.

The redhead sighed, "Not everything but one of the main issues is; we still have a lot more problems to work on together and individually but I'm confident in both his and my ability to heal…"

"And your cousin?"

"He's been taught who's the big bad in our family and now knows not to cross me ever again…"

"I hope the lesson wasn't violent…"

"Not physically at least…"

Ms. David fell silent, looking at the penciled sketch. Seven children stared back at her, peering out at the world with waiting eyes…"Inspiration?"

"Oh a dream I had when I finally slept," she answered nonchalantly; she paused, staring at the oldest of the drawn children before making his jaw line more angular, his cheeks shallower.

"You have a definite image of these kids…"

"Uh huh," she lightly shaded a couple of the girls' cheeks.

"In the dream who was their mother?"

"How did you know they're siblings?"

"They share several characteristics, the eyes being the most obvious…"

Gwen turned to look at her teacher, mischief in her own, "Really?" before turning back to look and cocking her head to the side as though seeing for herself for the first time what she already knew, "Huh, guess they took after me." She shrugged.

"And the father?"

"Well since they're not real I'd like to keep that my little secret."

The bell rang and Gwen stood up, gently freeing the picture from her easel and folding it up carefully to tuck it in her bag.

As she was pulling on her jacket the door to the room opened and in stepped Kevin. Ms. David's eyes widened in realization and Gwen gave her a grin.

"Ms. David," the redhead said cheerfully, "I am very certain that the future is bright."

She then gently tugged the boy out into the winter wonderland with a musical laugh. The door swung shut behind them with a soft thud. Ms. David dropped to a stool and stared at the now blank easel…

The End


End file.
